Where did those black legs come from?

[sheila3935]

I have a BR roo and RIR hens. I set some of their eggs, only 4 were fertile. Day after Thanksgiving They hatched all 4 of them. Yea! Ok now the question. These chicks have black legs. I know for a fact that it was BR roo over RIR hens as none of the rest of my girls are old enough to lay yet and they are in a separate run where the roo cant get. I think maybe my BR is a mix I got him from a lady selling babies raised him from 10 days old. The thing that makes me think he is a mix is he has some green tail feathers and a little gold in his hackles. I have another BR roo and he is just black and white no other colors in him. Here is a pick of Lindy where you can see his green in the tail feathers and a pic of one of the babies with black legs. What do you all think?

 

[ChickenWisperer]

I'd say your roo is a mix. Plus, his feet are partially black.... see the black on the front of his legs?

 

[sheila3935]

Yeah his has been that way almost since I got him. Now I wonder what these babies are going to look like. Cant wait til they get feathered.

 

[Illia]

I think your Rock is "purebred," just hatchery quality. Honestly I have seen hundreds of BR's from hatcheries with grey/black on their legs. . . I think it was dominant, and passed to the offspring.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Hatcheries sell a lot of Rhode Island Red x Barred Rock sex-link chicks, and many of them have dark legs! I couldn't figure it out either... Yellow + yellow = dark greyish color? I only have one Black Sex-link, and she's got dark colored legs. A friend of mine has several, and most of them have the dark legs... I don't get it! I'll be hatching a bunch of RIR x BR chicks next spring and I'm curious to see what I get!

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
The offspring should be Barred. [That is if he is pure for Barring and not a Black Sex-Link]


Chris

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Me either! I had some black sexlinks that were BO dad x BR mom and they hatched out with BR looking legs that changed to solid slate colored by the time they were grown!! I loved the color of their legs coz it was so dark, darker than anything else I've ever had!
Hen on the bottom right

 

[Cowgirl71]

Quote:
Me either! I had some black sexlinks that were BO dad x BR mom and they hatched out with BR looking legs that changed to solid slate colored by the time they were grown!! I loved the color of their legs coz it was so dark, darker than anything else I've ever had!
Hen on the bottom right
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_eVTlu3ivenA/S7qJfVI9xvI/AAAAAAAAAjE/_HDiqO48hec/s640/SANY0976.JPG

Cool! You did a BO x BR cross too!!! I hatched quite a few of these this spring, and this was another puzzle to me... BO=white legs, BR=yellow legs. Why did my 22 pullets have yellow, white, willow, and slate legs?! *SIGH*

Here's a pic of one of my slate-legged birds... I think this cross makes some good lookin' hens!

 

[blackdotte]

This seems to have gotten away from the question.
Barred Rocks are based on Extended Black which puts black into the legs, & Barred which takes it out, a balancing act. By mating to a RIR you have unset this balance, good news is that the darkest legged chicks are usually pullets